My regular daily beater suits me pretty well. Had it for about a year. 35mm case diameter which suits my wrist pretty well. Lightweight enough, automatic, brushed stainless finish, pretty submersible, comfortable flat bracelet, easy to read at a glance, ...and cheap. And I don't mind the look of it. Downside is that it's not manually windable; it has a running time of 27 hours from fully wound, so to leave it off for a couple of days whilst I wear a vintage watch or two is a bit of a pain - resetting the date and day. Mind you, that's easily done so it's only a minor annoyance. View attachment 77235
OK I will be very amazed if you could kill this ugly bug within 12 months. If you not purposely take hammer to break it I would say 10 years is minimum life span of this watch. The solar panel will die first. It is really like a bug.
If it lasts 6 months I will be amazed! It's going to see some daily beatings but at least it stops my 'real' watches don't get a bashing....
Longines Legend Diver reedition is my daily beater. Not for the small wrists though as the lugs are pretty long. There is a no date version but not produced anymore
As a daily "beater" I'm using the Dan Henry 1963 and whilst I'm not really "beating" it around that much (jogging, chrono is engaged for hours straight) it has fared very well, whilst remaining a gorgeous looking vintage-inspired chronograph. As long as you do not need your beater watch to resist being hammered or being run over a bus, the Dan Henry may very well do the trick !
Nothing beats the oldschool look and durability of a G-Shock DW5600. I love mine and it sure takes a beating. The obligatory Seiko skx007 or skx173 is also nice. Slighty more expensive for a summer beater I would go for the Seiko SRPA21. That is one good looking watch
Messing about on a boat... Strap snapped, rest is history! Anyone wants it, its somewhere off Rose Island, Nassau, New Providence.
Oh yeah, I only wear mine* when I'm unblocking drains, and bathing elephants... *I don't have a vintage Speedmaster.
For a beater, i highly recommend Casio. If you are not into G-Shock, they have other lines such as Pro-Trek. I own one and it is hella beater. Wear it thru swimming, climbing, parasailing...etc. it has compass, barometer, thermometer, altimeter, gmt, alarm, and some other functions. Battery is solar powered, supposedly will last at least 10 yrs. Highly recommended for active environment. Of course, not complete without customary pic: